Earlier this semester, Noble Schools hosted our 5th annual HBCU College Fair, and it was our biggest one yet! Over 400 students attended to connect with representatives from 15 HBCUs across the country. Students were asking essential questions and getting to know admissions counselors personally. Some students even received on-the-spot acceptances! Overall, it was a fantastic opportunity for students to discover and connect with colleges outside the Chicago area that they might not have considered because of the distance.
Take a look at some of the photos from the fair and what students and staff were saying about it:
“I am really proud that Noble is continuing to host this college fair. I think it can be a challenge to put something on like this… it means a lot to our students and even to the staff who went to HBCUs… I’m just glad that more students are choosing to attend. More students are coming, and we can say fifth annual, sixth annual. I can’t wait till it’s like 25th annual.”
– Kameshia Ward | Principal | Hansberry College Prep
“I met a lot of colleges. They saw my transcript and really pushed me to do better in school. They were awesome… I really loved meeting everybody at the fair. I love the HBCUs that came out and supported me.”
– Mishea Almond | 12th Grade | Hansberry College Prep
“{My students} were extremely excited coming in. Coming out, they definitely are motivated and pushed to apply some more, as at least four of them were accepted to Arkansas Pine Bluff on-site. So, that gave them the motivation to push through and say, ‘My grades, my academic profile, things that I want, will actually be noticed and accepted.”
– Damiya Perkins | Dean of College | Hansberry College Prep
“I have had a great time here today, exploring the different colleges and seeing what they have to offer. This further interested me in being an aerospace engineer. I want to explore outside of Chicago.”
– Holland Minkens | 12th Grade | Gary Comer College Prep
“I’m a proud HBCU alum myself. I went to Florida A & M, and so my school and all HBCUs are very close to my heart. I love that this fair exists to help our students get better information, get more exposure, and just know that it is possible to attend and be successful at an HBCU… Every student wants to find a home. Students like to see themselves reflected, and many times, an HBCU is their first exposure and opportunity to learn more about Black culture, diasporically. There’s so many aspects of Blackness that you don’t really understand until you go to an HBCU and you see so many different kinds of people. That’s why I want more students to feel like they could have a place there.”
– Rían Johnson | Dean of College | Gary Comer College Prep
“I don’t want to be in Illinois, so I want to go far. Being a young Black woman in Chicago, I want to be able to go out and explore. So, seeing so many HBCUs changed my perspective on where I want to go.”
– Aaliyah Murray | 12th Grade | Gary Comer College Prep
“I’m seeing my students get excited. A lot of them are seniors, so it’s like, ‘I’m almost there now; come May or come April, I need to know where I’m going to go.’ And this could be the impetus of that. So, some of them are changing and shifting their energy.”
– Dyryl Burnett | Alumni Success Coach | Rowe-Clark Math & Science Academy
“I originally didn’t know what HBCU I wanted to go to, or I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to an HBCU, but now I’m kind of changing my perspective. I feel like I will fit more at an HBCU because they’ll understand me, especially because they have a lot of opportunities, especially for Chicago kids.”
– Jayla Harris Daniels | 12th Grade | Rowe-Clark Math & Science Academy
“The lady at the Lincoln University table was saying she saw a lot of potential in me. She said she know I’ll be great wherever I go. That motivated me.”
– Syteria Love | 12th Grade | Mansueto High School
“I think it’s great for our students to get a range of experiences, talk to different schools, see what they have to offer, and get a complete idea of what campus life can be like and what’s out there for them… With the HBCU Fair, it’s great because we have students who, at many other college fairs, aren’t represented as much. And when they go to those campuses, they’re going to be a small part of the population. So, to be able to see these schools that serve a lot of students of color— where there’s a different environment and culture that really caters more towards the needs and experiences of the students— that’s an exciting thing.”
– Anthony Leigh | Dean of Instruction for STEM | Mansueto High School
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